Portugal Retreat & Camino Pilgrimage

Your journey begins at Casa de Vilela, a beautiful private estate tucked into the Portuguese countryside, just 30 minutes outside Porto. Built in 1731, this historic manor has been lovingly restored while keeping so much of its original character, from its old wine cellars and traditional Portuguese tilework to its grand rooms and private chapel. All of the bedrooms incude en suite bathrooms.

Outside, we’ll be surrounded by vineyards, gardens, farmland, and our own private woodland with walking trails. Wine is even still produced here in the old, traditional way. 

And for three days, we’ll have it all to ourselves.

After getting settled into your room, we’ll gather for our first teaching and the settle around the table for  dinner, prepared by our private chef.

Great food, a beautiful setting, new friendships, and nowhere else you need to be—it’s a pretty great way to begin our time in Portugal.

Today is all about settling into the retreat and enjoying a day with nowhere else you need to be.

All our meals will be prepared by our private chef. Jeff and I have had the abolsute pleasure of eating him meals in the past and they are so fantastic.

We’ll start the day with a full breakfast, followed by teaching and discussion sessions designed to encourage you, challenge you, and prepare your heart and mind for the days ahead. We will have a fun workout where you can try out your new exercise equipment. No matter what your fitness level is, we will have options that will meet you where you're at.  

We will sit down to a fresh and healthy lunch, an then the afternoon is all yours. Relax by the pool, take a walk, read, nap, or spend some quiet time on your own. We’ve intentionally left this part of the day open so you can enjoy it however you’d like.

In the evening, we’ll gather again for a delicious multi course dinner and wine pairing and then plays some games or just head off to bed. 

After breakfast, we’ll travel to Esposende, where our Camino adventure officially begins! Our first day takes us through small Portuguese villages, forests, and country roads, with beautiful views of the Atlantic along the way. We’ll pass through Castelo do Neiva, home to a church dedicated to Santiago that dates all the way back to 862.

We’ll finish by crossing the River Lima into Viana do Castelo, a beautiful coastal city known for its historic center and hilltop Sanctuary of Santa Luzia. That evening, we’ll enjoy dinner at a local restaurant and share stories from our first day on the Camino.

After breakfast and a brief devotional, we’ll continue along one of the most scenic stretches of the Portuguese Coastal Camino. We’ll make our way through seaside villages and along beautiful stretches of the Atlantic, passing Vila Praia de Âncora and the white sands of Moledo Beach, where we can spot the historic Ínsua fortress just offshore. Our day ends in Caminha, a charming fortified town where the Minho River separates Portugal from Spain.

There will be several quaint restaurants on the trail for you to choose from for your lunch. Some like to pick up a sanwich and keep walking, while others love to sit for a nice relaxing meal - it's your choice. 

Dinner will be together at a local restaurant with several Portugese dishes to choose from. 

Today after breakfast and our devotional,  we’ll say goodbye to Portugal and cross the Minho River into Spain—a memorable milestone on our Camino. We’ll continue along the beautiful Galician coast before arriving in A Guarda, a charming fishing town known for its harbor, fresh seafood, and views of Monte Santa Trega, home to an ancient settlement dating back more than 2,000 years. With fewer miles today, we’ll have extra time to explore, relax, and enjoy our first afternoon in Spain.

Once again, you can choose a spot to have lunch and later that evening we will all gather for dinner. 

Our final day on the Coastal Camino may be the most spectacular of them all. With the Atlantic beside us for most of the day, we’ll follow the rugged Galician coastline to Oia, home to the 12th-century Monastery of Santa María de Oia—the only Cistercian monastery in Europe built right beside the ocean.

We will meet for lunch and from there, we’ll transfer inland to Caldas de Reis and join the Central Camino for our final three days. This gives us the best of both routes: the incredible coastal scenery, followed by the historic pilgrimage path that will take us all the way to Santiago.

You'll have time in the afternoon to relax by the pool, sit in the thermal ponds, or do some shopping. We will then share another dinner together. 

Today we begin walking the Central Camino, following old pilgrimage paths through lush forests, small villages, and the beautiful Galician countryside. After breakfast and a short devotional, we’ll set out for Padrón, a town deeply connected to the story of St. James and the Camino itself. This stretch feels like classic Camino—wooded paths, old stone bridges, small churches, and pilgrims making their way toward the same destination.

During part of today’s walk, you’ll have the opportunity to listen to one of our guided audio teachings, adding another layer to the day and giving us plenty to talk about when we get together for dinner that evening

We will finish our walk at Hotel Paza de Lestrove, a 16th-century building, formerly a country retreat of the Archbishops of Santiago de Compostela. The property includes a chapel, swimming pool and beautiful grounds. We will have dinner at their gourmet restaurant. 

After breakfast we will get together for some movement and stretching, followed by teachings and discussions. Today's walk is a bit shorter so you can stop in Padron and choose from several restaurants to have lunch. (I had one of the best slices of pizza in this town and can't wait to go back and have another one!) 

Today the Camino begins to feel a little different. As we make our way through the Galician countryside, we’ll encounter more pilgrims heading in the same direction, each with their own story and reason for walking. It’s a great reminder that while the Camino is a very personal journey, it’s also one shared with people from all over the world.

During part of today’s walk, you’ll have the opportunity to listen to one of our guided audio teachings, adding another layer to the day and giving us plenty to talk about when we get together for dinner that evening.

Today is the day we’ve been walking toward! If you're like me, you will have mixed emotions going into your final day on the Camino. Excitement because of what you've experienced but a bit of saddness because you know it's the last day. God often speaks loudest into my heart on this last day. 

We’ll cover our final miles into Santiago de Compostela, joining pilgrims from around the world as we make our way through the old city and into the plaza in front of the Cathedral. After 73 miles together, there’s something pretty incredible about finally arriving on foot, looking back at how far we’ve come, and realizing... we did it!

That evening, we’ll celebrate over a special dinner, sharing favorite moments, plenty of stories and laughs, and what we want to take home from the experience. The walking may end in Santiago, but hopefully what we learned and experienced along the way will stay with us long after we’re home.

After one final breakfast, it’s time to say goodbye and head home. We may be leaving the Camino behind, but hopefully we’ll return with a little more clarity about how we want to live, a deeper connection with God, and friendships that don’t end in Santiago. Our hope is that this experience becomes more than a great memory and becomes part of what comes next.

If you have to leve early this day and won't be at breakfast we will be sure to say our good-byes the night before!!